James Comer to accuse Tim Walz of being 'asleep at the wheel' at fraud hearing

By Fox News · Fox News

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will accuse top Minnesota government officials of being "asleep at the wheel" at the start of his panel's high-profile hearing into alleged fraud. In Comer's opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital, he is expected to question whether "Governor Tim Walz , Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership" were negligent or "complicit" in the growing scandal. "Minnesota’s social services — which are funded by you, the American taxpayer — are being ripped off. The most vulnerable are suffering as a result," Comer will say, according to his prepared remarks. "The fraudsters — many of whom are from Minnesota’s Somali community — have stolen from programs meant to feed needy kids, provide services to autistic children, house low-income and disabled Americans, and provide healthcare to vulnerable Medicaid recipients." HOUSE GOP BILL COULD TRIGGER SELF-DEPORTATION FOR SOMALI REFUGEES AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future . However, the probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud. Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny. U.S. attorneys have alleged that billions more dollars could have fallen prey to fraud in the state, something Walz has pushed back on while accusing Republicans of politicizing the scandal. "Fraudsters like these take millions to enrich themselves while providing nothing, overstating, or outright faking the services. How many children have gone hungry because fraudsters stole money that was intended to provide them with food?" Comer will say. KAROLINE LEAVITT WARNS 'PEOPLE WILL BE IN HANDCUFFS' AS FEDS ZERO IN ON MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL "How many autistic children were denied ser…